Alarm bells rang loud from Raj Bhavan as West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose likened the twin scourges of violence and corruption in state politics to a fast-spreading cancer during a media briefing on Wednesday.
The context was his attendance at a private university convocation in North 24 Parganas, where post-event questions led to his forthright views. ‘These two issues – violence and rampant corruption – are growing like cancer in Bengal’s politics like never before,’ he articulated.
Optimism flickered as he spoke of collaborative endeavors: ‘All of us are working tirelessly towards a violence-free, corruption-free Bengal.’
Bose heartily endorsed the Centre’s guidelines for ‘Vande Mataram,’ portraying it as ‘the soul of Indian society, symbolizing fearless expression in a free nation.’
He deftly avoided the thorny issue of the Supreme Court’s rebuff to the state plea on the NIA’s role in Beldanga violence probe, saying, ‘It’s a judicial issue, and I, as Governor, won’t comment.’
In electoral matters, his support for ECI’s SIR was unequivocal: ‘This is the correct path to independent and fair polls in India.’
Bose’s prognosis of Bengal’s political health has ignited debates, framing violence and corruption not as isolated incidents but as metastatic diseases demanding immediate, decisive treatment to prevent total collapse.